Description
Book SynopsisThis bilingual Ukrainian-English collection brings together the most interesting experimental works by Mykola (Nik) Bazhan, one of the major Ukrainian poets of the twentieth century. As he moved from futurism to neoclassicism, symbolism to socialist realism, Bazhan consistently displayed a creative approach to theme, versification, and vocabulary. Many poems from his three remarkable early collections (1926, 1927, and 1929) remain unknown to readers, both in Ukraine and the West. Because Bazhan was later forced into the straitjacket of officially sanctioned socialist realism, his early poetry has been neglected. This collection makes these outstanding works available for the first time.
Trade Review"The translator’s essays fill in all the necessary gaps, providing insights not only into Bazhan’s work but to the process of translation itself. The essays that open and close the volume strike the right balance between accessibility and detailed analysis. Ultimately, the volume serves as a compelling argument for more Bazhan: his work on the Holocaust deserves to be revisited and reappraised, as do his later, more philosophical and spiritual poems and prose works. The process of rendering the work of a poet as versatile and restless as Mykola Bazhan into English will probably never be finished, but Rosenblum, Fridman, and Khyzhnia have performed a great service by giving that process such an excellent new beginning." - LA Review of BooksTable of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Oksana Rosenblum
- Introduction: "The Ukrainian Avant-Garde and Its Roots: The Poetics of Mykola (Nik) Bazhan"
- Galyna Babak
- COLLECTIONS
-
Сімнадцятий патруль/The Seventeenth Patrol (1926)
-
Translator's Essay: "Jumping the Corral Fence"
- Svetlana Lavochkina
- Пісня бійця / Trooper's Song
- Імобе з Галаму / Imobe of Galam
-
Різьблена тінь/The Sculpted Shadow (1927)
-
Translator's Essay: "Mykola Bazhan's The Sculpted Shadow: Echoes of Acmeism"
- Dr. Amelia Glaser
- Осіння путь / An Autumn Road
- Підкови коней / Horseshoes
- Нічний момент / A Moment in the Night
- Неясний звук / Indistinct Sound
- Папороть / Fern
- Кров полонянок / The Blood of the Captive Women
- Любисток / Lovage
- Розмай-зілля / Love Potion
- Дорога несходима / The Infinite Road
-
Будівлі/Edifices (1929)
- Дорога / The Road
- Нічний рейс / A Night Cruise
- Моєму другові / To My Friend
- Фокстрот / Foxtrot
- Елегія атракціонів / Elegy for Circus Attractions
- Будівлі / Edifices: Собор / Cathedral, Брама / Archway, Будинок / Building
- Розмова сердець / Conversation of Hearts
-
Short Poems (1923-1927)
- Translators' Essays
- Ostap Kin, Ainsley Morse, Mykyta Tyshchenko
- Seán Monagle
- Сурма юрм / Trumpet of Swarm
- Рура-Марш / Ruhr-March
- Аеро-марш / Aero-March
- Мене зелених ніг / Hops of Green Legs
- Цирк / Circus
-
Long Poems (1929-1930)
- Гофманова ніч / Night of Hoffmann
- Гетто в Умані / Ghetto in Uman'
- Translator's Essay
- Prof. George G. Grabowicz
- Сліпці / Blind Bards
-
Prose (1927)
- Translator's Essay
-
Dr. Roman Ivashkiv
- Зустріч на перехресній станції: розмова трьох / Meeting at the Crossroad Station: A Conversation Among the Three (1927)
- Afterward: "From the Whirlpool of Creativity to Living on the Edge of a Psychological Abyss: Mykola Bazhan in the 1920s and 1930s"
- Dr. Eleonora Solovey
- Information about the editors, translators, and contributing writers
- Illustrations
- Index
